Many horizontal axis washing machines—also referred to as “front loaders” because laundry is loaded through a door on the front side of the machine—are commonly provided with a variable speed electric motor for driving rotation of a laundry tub. The electric motor is typically located adjacent the tub and mechanically coupled to the tub using a belt system. A controller for the electric motor is mounted away from the electric motor, often adjacent to a controller for the washing machine, and electrically coupled to the electric motor via a cable assembly.
As recognized by the present inventors, these known washing machines have several disadvantages. For example, locating the motor controller away from the motor requires use of the cable assembly, which typically includes interference retarding components to reduce television interference. Additionally, because the motor controllers commonly include heat sinks mounted within a controller housing—also referred to as a drip shield—the controller housing is unnecessarily large, resulting in increased materials cost, and restricts heat dissipation from the heat sink.